There has been a topic going on about cold meds and there seems to be a bit of a debate over modern meds vs. natural remedies. I am NOT posting this to start a debate!!:angel: I am a natural remedy girl myself and I know there are more of you. I have not been to the doctor (except the ob/gyn) in over 7 years. I hardly ever get sick. Now this is not to say that I don't use meds. I do if there is nothing else that will work. I'd like to know from those who do implement natural cures and use home remedies or herbs what works for you and what doesn't. Let's share our ideas here! I'll go first.... When the seasons change I take echinadea capsules to help boost my immune system. If I get a cold I take cough drops made from herbs and use saline spray not medicated spray. Also a hot tea with honey and lemon helps unclog my chest. For upset tummy I make a hot peppermint tea and add a bit of honey to it. Eases the tummy ache everytime. For headaches a hot steamy bath with chamomile or lavender oil followed by a cold compress to the head and I drink lots of caffine. I know caffine works oposite for some people but this works for me. My husband also does this weird thing to my head that I can't really explain but it helps relieve pressure. I think it is some sort of pressure point thing. Now this doesn't work when it is that time of the month if ya know what I mean. Then I have to take Tylenol. So lets here it! What works for you??
I combat most of my PMS symptoms with Sepia. I use three tabs under my tongue about every four hours for the days leading up to menses. I will take them as needed for cramping during menses, as well. Sepia is a homeopathic remedy and usually sold in tiny vials. When I get a headache I start with a tall glass of gatoraide. When drunk fairly quickly, that will often knock out a headache. I also massage the pressure point between my thumb and index finger. The fleshy part there is a direct tie to the pain receptors of the head. If the gatoraide doesn't work, I work on the source of the headache. Is it a tension headache? Is it sleep deprivation? Is it dehydration (which the gatoraide would have taken care of)? Whatever it is, I work from that. If I get a migraine, however, I drink tons of caffeine and take Exedrine migraine. Traditional remedies usually fail me at that point. My FIL can control his migraine pain with progesterone cream, but it doesn't work as often for women as it does for men. I use a wide variety of teas for just about everything. If in doubt of what to use for what, Natures Remedies brand labels the teas based on what they are for. So you would buy PMS Tea or Cold Care tea for example. They also have a line for kids. The other remedy that I use just about daily around here is Arnica. It will reduce bruising, swelling, and other surface marks and the pain associated with them. You know, the kind that a 5, 3, and 20mo boy would end up with nearly every day. lol. I use it mostly for the pain, so we do the internal (usually Highlands Bumps and Bruises), but there is also a gel form that works great for the cosmetic symptoms. Arnica is also homeopathic. If you're curious about homeopathy, but know nothing, a good place to start is ABC Homeopathy. You can search for symptoms and it will give you the general remedy. If you click a little further, you'll get specific brands of that remedy with the option to purchase them.
I am going to have to look into Sepia. I had never heard of that before. Sometimes I have no pms symptoms and sometimes they are really rough! I am big into teas also. I am going to have to look into that brand since they have a specific kid line. My oldest HATES taking meds so I like to try natural stuff with her. Thanks for sharing your ideas!!
well when my dd's were younger and always having colds my grandma said to put vicks on the bottom of there feet with socks on and on there chest for night.. alittle on there fore head. And make them warm honey and water... for loose stools my MIL says warm milk and toast and it works wonderful.
Yeah, Kris, that Vicks thing seems to work! My mom used it on a strip of cloth around our necks, and a wool sock over that (safety-pinned on) to keep the heat in or something. We'd wear that overnight. It always seemed to help us too!
I tend to use Menthalatum over Vicks, but only because of price. It works just as well for my boys. And we use quite a lot of it. Xander has asthma when it flares up, we'll use the Menthalatum first. Often we don't need to give breathing treatments with it. If we do, I like to put a tiny drop of lavender or chamomile oil in with the albuterol and that really helps him relax and breath deeply.
We use grapeseed extract and vitamin c for colds plus silver it is a natural antibiotic. We seem to be pretty healthy.
I have used the silver for my dds urinary track infections before. The doc would put her on antibiotics and she would get one again as soon as the meds ran out it seemed. So I went looking on the net for a natural fix. Because the doc was talking about doing painful dye tests and a lot of other things I didnt want for her. I found the silver and it worked great. She hasnt had a UTI for a long time now. At the first sign of " Mommy it hurts down there" I give her some and that is the end of that. And I just ran out to Walgreens( 11:00pm) to get some Vick for my kids. They are coughing and have stuffy noses and congestion. I put it on ones feet and the chest and throat of two others.
We use saline all the time--especially dh. There is not much better for cleaning out the nasal passages. I don't really take anything other than the occasional excedrin. I tried echinacea (sp?) on the recommendation of a friend and that summer was the sickest I have ever been! I think with medications/herbs/whatever your remedy some people are just affected different ways. Thankfully we are oddly healthy around here. I cannot remember the last time I went to the doctor other than for my yearly checkup. On a funny note, when I was little I would get bladder infections and my grandma told my mom to give me some beer. I was raised Southern Baptist and no one in my family drinks. So my mom goes and gets some beer and all she can get in me is a tiny sip and that is it. But of course the next Sunday I announced to the Sunday school teachers that my mama gave me beer!:lol:
We use apple vinagar with honey half and half tsp at a time for sore throats. Mix it really well each time you use it. Works really well unless you have strep throat. It taste horrible going down but I swear by at least the second tsp its easier to swollow after that. My dad told me this years ago. Works way better then those throat sprays Sam
I need to make a correction. I said the brand name of teas I use was Natures Remedies, but Nature's Medicinals. Moral of the story: Don't post on less than 4 hours sleep. I also use yogurt for yeast infections. Applied topically it provides INSTANT relief and eaten regularly prevents them altogether. Colloidal Silver for just about anything bacterial is great. I use it on my boys when they start tugging ears and it knocks out any discomfort pretty quickly.
WOW! Thank ladies! That is awesome! I have been wondering where to start with natural remedies. For UTI's I have tried Traditional Medicinals herbal Cran Aid tea. I just bought it after my bad experience on an antibiotic for a UTI. I felt a twinge of a UTI so I am drinking a cup right now. That and lots of water really help. In fact, just keeping up on water will help. I don't get them often...but I have had a few. However, after my antibiotic experience I try to prevent UTI's. I will have to look into silver. One question: how do you know how much to take or how often? I have seen a few natural remedies and dosages were not the label. Are there dosages on more labels? I will admit I am only beginning my research into this.
The homeopathic tablets that I use tend to be labeled with a dosage. Most herbal remedies are not. The FDA prohibits them from doing so, because that would imply that they are, in fact, remedies. Something the FDA is strongly against. And it's no wonder, since most of the FDA governing body also sit as CEO's of major drug corps. But I'll save that rant for another day..... This site has a great number of herbs listed, with uses and dosage.
I totally agree with you. We are all made a bit differently and thus we will react differently. Just like some people are allergic to certain things and some are not. Thank you ladie so much! I am loving all this info! I had no idea silver could be used as an antibiotic. What forms does it come in. My kids will not take pills so that is why I like to use teas and rubs with them. Samantha has really oily skin and hair and sometimes dandruff and her hair is super thick. She has also had acne for several years and she is only 11. Well I looked up natural ways to deal with these problem last night while surfing the web and decided to try something. I made rinse from simply warm water and the juice of one lemon. So I washed her hair and then poured the rinse on and followed that with cool water. We dried it a bit to see if it worked and it looked great! Perfectly normal hair! So then we rubbed the rest of the lemon on her face and also rinsed with cool water and wouldn't ya know it - it worked too! So I am going to forget those fancy shampoos and acne creams. Lemon worked like a charm. You can also use a vinegar rinse to strip the hair of build up but I'm sure that doesn't smell too good.
Thanks Amie for the websites you provided! My echinacea capsules have a dosage of 3 - 4 pills a day marked on the lable and they are 400 millegram.
This isn't natural at all but when the kids get upset stomachs or sick, he gives them coke cola he says his grandmother gave it to him and it made it feel better.......... I looked into this and mostly it does because it has potasium. As a little girl, my mom gave me ginger ale----- ginger helps an upset tummy too.
ABall I didn't think of that! I was thinking something like lavender oil which I don't have any of but I always have vanilla. Great idea!
So you just mixed the lemon juice with warm water? My dd9 has started to get acne. I have bought the creams and soaps, and they will work if I wash for her, but she doesn't do a good job on her own. How can you tell that it was working? My dd also has seborrhea (flaky skin on the scalp, but worse than dandruff- it actually bleeds at times). The only thing that we've found that works for that is T-Gel shampoo (recommeded by our pedi). It is very expensive and the Wal-Marts here in TX don't have the generic. I'm wondering if this would work for that, too.
